


Baby Just Come on In

by maitimiel



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Getting Together, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22264390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maitimiel/pseuds/maitimiel
Summary: Steve wants to tell Nancy and Jonathan he's in love with them.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81
Collections: Holly Poly 2019





	Baby Just Come on In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArtyVee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtyVee/gifts).



Nancy walked into the diner trying to look at the same time mature and confident, but also kind and properly apologetical since she had, after all, dumped Steve for Jonathan and not the other way around. It was a complicated balance, but she thought she could achieve it with a little bit of effort. 

That didn't mean she wasn't nervous. She was. Very. She loved Jonathan, yes, but she had loved Steve as well. She wanted them to be okay. She wasn't ready for it if they weren't going to be okay. 

Steve hadn't said why he wanted to meet; or if he had, then her father had made a terrible job of noting down the message. Nancy would have appreciated a little more information than "Meet Steve - Cheesecake Palace 4 PM." Did Steve want to get back together? Was he still mad about the breakup? What if he made a scene? Jonathan had just shrugged his shoulders and reminded her she didn't _have_ to go. But in the end, she decided, she did own him at least this - they had never quite cleared the air after she had told him she was going out with Jonathan now, and she wanted to be fair. Steve was a nice guy. Perhaps they could become friends. Nancy would like that.

The Cheesecake Palace was one of the places where they used to hang out when they were together. It served a terrible cheesecake, but Nancy and Steve had split many chocolate milkshakes there. It took her a couple of minutes to locate Steve sitting alone in a corner booth, staring distractedly out of the window. The was an open coke in front of him, apparently untouched, and he was tapping his fingers on the table.

"Hi," Nancy said, trying to sound cheerful but not too cheerful. Steve almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hi there!" he exclaimed loudly, and then he flushed. He stood up to give her a quick hug. "How are you, you look good!" 

"I am! Good I mean. You too!" she stumbled onto the words and felt her face grow warm as well. "What I mean is. It's good to see you."

"Yes! It's good to see you too," he replied, still flushed, but looking slightly less uncomfortable. He gestured towards the seat in front of him, "Sit, sit. Do you want anything? A milkshake?"

Nancy shook her head. "I'm okay for now I think, thanks." She noticed Steve's hair was a little longer than she remembered, and realised she wasn't quite sure when they had last seen each other. 

"No problem." His fingers started tapping again before he noticed and closed his fist. "Jonathan's not here?"

"Ah, no," Nancy said, awkwardly. Did the invitation extend to Jonathan? Was it weird she hadn't brought Jonathan? "He had to help his mom with… something." Look, lying on the spot was hard.

"Oh, okay," Steve said, looking taken aback for a moment, but he recovered quickly and smiled at her. Gosh, he was beautiful when he smiled. "That's too bad. I would have liked to see him."

"You would? I mean." she tried to smile through her bemusement. "He would have liked to see you too." 

"He would?" He asked, looking hopeful. Nancy had no idea what was going on anymore.

"Sure!"

"Maybe the three of us could get together sometime," Steve suggested, looking slightly out of breath. 

Perhaps, she thought, this was as weird to him as it was to her. But whatever was happening to Steve's face right then, it was reassuring to know he too would like to have a relationship with them, whatever that looked like. Her smile grew more genuine. 

"That would be lovely. Actually," she beamed. "I think I _would_ like a milkshake."

"Oh." Steve seemed unsure for a second, and then he reached out across the table and grasped her hand for the briefest moment, before becoming the nearest waitress.

  


* * *

  


"You invited Steve for dinner," Jonathan repeated, "with the kids, tonight?"

"Yup," Nancy answered, checking herself on the mirror and straightening her skirt. Jonathan was still wrapped in a pile of blankets on the floor, hair in disarray. "Get up!" she chastised, but she was smiling. "My parents will be here any minute." Jonathan groaned but obeyed.

"I'm just saying. Don't you think that's kind of odd?"

"To have dinner with the kids?"

"That too. No, I mean, I have barely _seen_ Steve around for months, suddenly he wants to hang out?" Jonathan pulled his shirt on, and Nancy started fixing his hair, critically.

"He mentioned you specifically. More than once."

"How so?" Jonathan asked, reaching out to play with Nancy's necklace.

"Oh, I don't know. He asked about you, said he'd like the three of us together, told me to say hi to you for him? By the way, Steve says 'hi'.

"And you invited him to babysit?"

"It's not really babysitting. The boys will be doing whatever and we'll be watching a movie. It'll be fine."

Jonathan made a non-committal noise. "Still kinda weird."

"We did it all the time when we were going out." Nancy seemed finally satisfied with the state of his clothes and gave herself one less quick check on the mirror before opening the door to the hallway. "It's not weird." 

"If you say so." Jonathan followed but didn't seem particularly convinced.

  


* * *

  


Nancy _did_ find it a little weird. It was just that, she really, really wanted this to work out. She hadn't realised before just how much she missed Steve, and his puppy eyes, and his infectious laughter. Their date at the diner had remembered her all the reasons she had liked being with him, the ways they used to have fun. Steve had sounded as nervous as she had felt, at first, but they had quickly moved past that, and it had felt so good to talk to him again! If he was willing to be friends with her and Jonathan again, even after she had technically cheated on him, she should try her hardest to make it work, right? 

Nancy's parents weren't going to stay for dinner - there was a new play her mom wanted to watch. Nancy had bought a frozen meatloaf, and she was going to mash some potatoes and prepare some peas. It was simple, but she thought it was nice, and besides, it gave her something to do. She had rented a cowboy movie - one of Steve's favourites. The night was meticulously planned, to the minute.

Her hands were shaking. 

"Hey," Jonathan said, gently pulling her closer to his chest. "It's going to be alright, you know."

"Are you sure," she asked, embarrassed at how needy she sounded.

"Yeah," he whispered into her hair, "Steve is a good guy. It'll be fine."

Nancy let herself be held for a few minutes, until they heard the doorbell. 

"I'll get it," Jonathan said, letting go of her. She picked up the potato peeler from where she'd dropped it on the counter, and nodded, collecting herself. 

  


* * *

  


Steve was smiling maybe a little too brightly, but otherwise, he looked the same as always to Jonathan. 

"Hey man," he greeted, and to his surprise, Steve pulled him into a hug. It was so quick he wasn't sure it had actually happened, but Steve just carried onwards as if that was totally normal.

"Good to see you, man. The kids here yet?"

"Still missing Dustin," Jonathan replied, slowly. He noticed Steve was biting his lip. "Nancy is cooking."

"Oh God, really?" Steve craned his neck to spy into the house. Jonathan took a step back, inviting him in. "That sounds like a dangerous idea." 

"Well. It's mostly frozen." Jonathan shrugged. "The potatoes are fresh though."

"I see," Steve stood there, facing him. He opened his mouth, but said nothing. They stared at each other, and Jonathan swallowed dryly. 

"Shall we?" He pointed to the kitchen. Steve blushed and averted his eyes.

"Oh, yes, of course. Lets." 

Jonathan stood in the hallway a moment longer. He thought he could still feel the gentle pressure of Steve's hands where they had touched.

  


* * *

  


Nancy was trying very hard no to look up at every other second, (certainly it didn't take _that long_ to come from the hallway to the kitchen?) so she was relieved when she heard Steve's voice in the corridor.

"Hey, Nance!" 

"Hi Steve!" she replied, putting the potato peeler down again. She moved to greet him, taking in his appearance. He looked nice, clean sweater, slightly flustered from the cold, but looking a lot more comfortable than the day before, and - "Are those flowers?"

"Oh," Steve blushed a little bit. "Yes. For you. Both of you," he amended. Jonathan frowned a little.

"That's really nice," Nancy exclaimed, hiding her confusion. "Jonathan, can you," she trailed, gesturing towards the cabinet. 

"Of course," Jonathan opened said cabinet, finding a vase. "Here, I'll take them." 

He took the small bouquet from Steve's hands and placed them in the vase, and then filled it with tap water. He placed it in the middle of the kitchen table, and all three teens looked at it for a second. Steve broke the silence:

"Do you need any help?"

"Oh, I'm okay," Nancy moved back to the potatoes and resumed peeling. "Just gotta finish these last 3 and put them in the boiling water," she gestured to a pot behind her. Jonathan and Steve stood awkwardly watching her peel and cut, and Nancy felt her face grow warm. "Why don't you sit down? There's juice in the fridge."

The boys seemed relieved to have something to do. Steve pulled a chair at the dinner table, and Jonathan grabbed the lemonade jug and 3 glasses from the cabinet. He poured a glass for each of them.

"So Steve," he spoke casually. "What have you been doing lately?"

They fell into conversation, and Nancy, back turned to them, closed her eyes in relief. This could work. They would make it work.

They moved to the living room once the potatoes were cooking, and put the movie on. Nancy was sitting next to Steve on the couch, and Jonathan had taken an armchair. The movie was fun, but both boys had apparently watched it multiple times, and they kept interrupting it to talk about specific topics they loved. Nancy found herself watching them. This was probably the most they had ever interacted in front of her, and both seemed to be at ease in each other's company. There were a couple jokes and a lot of nerding about cowboys. Jonathan's body was facing Steve, movie relegated to the background, and Steve leaned slightly forward, closer to him. 

Nancy smiled.

Then she smelled smoke.

"Oh, crap," she cursed and ran to the kitchen. 

The potatoes were nearly out of water, but the worst was the meatloaf. The moment Nancy opened the oven, a gust of black smoke came out, and even before she had managed to find her mittens to take it to the counter, she knew there was no salvaging it. 

"Crap crap crap!" 

"You okay?" Steve asked and she turned around to see both boys had followed her. Jonathan took a look at the coal-like loaf in the counter and muttered "Wow" under his breath.

"Dinner is ruined!"

"It's okay," Steve tried, but she cut him off.

"The boys will be hungry!"

"The boys won't leave that basement unless we drag them out," Jonathan reasoned. 

"That's right," Steve agreed, "They'll be fine."

"We can order a pizza," Jonathan suggested. "It'll be here in 20 minutes."

"Absolutely great idea," Steve said emphatically, and Steve looked at him. Steve blushed. "Kids love pizza."

Nancy stared from one of them to the other, and surprising even herself, burst into laughter.

"Nance?" 

"Sorry, I. It's just," She tried to focus but Jonathan's and Steve's confused looks just made her laugh harder. "I _hate_ cooking!"

They started smiling as well. "I'm going to go order that pizza," Steve said. "Can I use your phone?"

She nodded, with tears in her eyes. 

"Okaaay." 

Steve left her alone with Jonathan, who was still looking a little bewildered at her.

"God, this is _weird_ ," she whispered to him, and he sighed loudly, relieved. 

"Oh, _good_ , it's not just me."

"Nope." She was still laughing softly. "No, he's definitely acting a little odd."

"Right. I didn't want to mention it cause you were nervous but."

"It's like he's trying to _please_ you," she exclaimed lowly, looking towards the corridor.

" _Why_?"

" _I don't know!_ "

"Okay, ordered!" Steve walked back into the kitchen, and Jonathan and Nancy turned to him, smiling. "Do you guys want to go back to the movie?"

"Yeah, let's," Jonathan answered, and he led the way.

  


* * *

  


"So the real enemy is not actually the bad guys, but the whole system who created the bad guys," Jonathan was saying, his back to the TV rack. The kids had taken their pizza downstairs as soon as it arrived, so Nancy, Jonathan and Steve ate theirs in front of the television, and were still hanging out there, though the movie had ended a while ago. "Because Bob never had a real choice but to start a life of crime when his sister was threatened, but the whole movie, the sheriff, the supermarket guy, the mayor, they all had opportunities to _change things_ in the town, to help people, but they don't, they _want_ to maintain the status quo because it benefits them." 

"I'm not sure I agree," Nancy replied pensively, "I mean, yes, Billy had a very rough past that led him to crime, but a lot of other people had rough lives, including Billy's victims. Why don't they turn to crime?"

"Because -" A clock rang somewhere. "Gosh, what time is it?" 

"A quarter past midnight," answered Steve, who had moved to sprawl in the armchair after Jonathan left it.

"I should take Will home," Jonathan said, stretching his legs and pulling himself up. He opened the door that hid the stairway to the basement and called loudly "Will, we're going!"

"Hey listen." Steve stood up as well, and Nancy and Jonathan both turned their attention to him. He stared at his feet for a moment, and then seemed to make a resolve. 

"There's actually something I wanted to talk to you both about, without the kids being around."

"Oh." Nancy appeared curious. 

Jonathan tilted his head. "Okay."

"So can we meet again?" He started blushing and avoiding their eyes again. 

"Of course," Nancy said, looking from him to Jonathan. "Maybe?" 

"My mom works late," Jonathan nodded. "The boys will play at the Hendersons' on Saturday. Do you wanna come over?"

"Yeah," Steve swallowed. "Yeah, I do."

  


* * *

  


They had agreed to meet at around eight, so Nancy arrived at Jonathan's a little before seven. He had a huge pot filled with water that wasn't yet boiling, for pasta, a sauce slow cooking on the backburner, and was presently cleaning and seasoning chicken thighs. 

"Wow," she said softly. Jonathan shrugged.

"We gotta eat. I think."

"This is still. Kinda fancy. Is this your way to release anxiety?"

"What do you think this is _about_?" Jonathan set the knife down and turned to face her.

"I don't know. I -" She bit her lip, unsure. She was just as confused about Steve's sudden desire to hang out with them as Jonathan was, and she did think he was acting strangely. Her mom had told her boys had too much _pride_ to ever forgive girls who left them, and she had seem this prove itself true among most of her school mates. She had hoped for mutual respect and friendship, and she thought she had it. She had no reference to guess what came next, what Steve meant to ask. And yet. "I just. Don't have a bad feeling about this. Do you?"

Jonathan shook his head. 

"The other night was _good_. It was weird and a bit awkward at times, but it felt _good_ to be around him, didn't it?"

Jonathan cleaned his hands with a tea towel and pulled Nancy closer. She rested her head against his shoulder.

"It was fun," he agreed. "I'm not… I'm just confused, you know?"

"Yeah?" 

"You're going to think I'm crazy, but. It's just."

"What?" Nancy raised her head to look at him squarely.

"There were a few moments at your place that were… charged."

"Charged?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Charged how?"

"It just sorta felt like he was… coming on to me you know."

A pregnant silence was followed by Nancy giggling uncontrollably in his arms.

"What - I'm serious!" Jonathan protested, indignant. 

"Jonathan _come on_."

"He brought flowers _for the both of us_."

"Okay but -"

"He was practically touching my knee when we were talking!"

" _Practically_."

"He was!" 

"And now you're what, cooking him a romantic dinner?"

"Nance!" Jonathan hid his face in his hands, flustered and frustrated. She tried to control her laugher, with difficulty. 

"Okay," she said. catching her breath. "Okay, let's _say_ Steve is coming on to you. The flowers were for me, too. What then?" Jonathan stared at her for a moment, incredulous. 

" _What_?"

"What do we do?"

" _Jesus_ , Nancy, I - I don't know."

Behind them, the water was beginning to boil. 

  


* * *

  


Steve was going to die.

He was so fucked, he had no _idea_ how he was going to do this, Jesus, and now they were expecting him to say something. This was insane. He should have never even started it, what was he thinking, that he could just go to a couple and ask to join them and that'd could possibly, in any way, not end in disaster?

After this, he was sure, he would be shunned from everything ever and would have to move to… Vermont or something. Somewhere far. This was the end of his life cause he would never be able to face either Nancy or Jonathan ever again. Gosh, they would think he was a pervert, wouldn't them? 

He could still turn back, he could make something up, say he wanted to talk to them about, who knows, the newest sales in Shoehorn Shoes? No, that was idiotic, they would know he was lying. A road trip! They could all go on a nice, totally platonic road trip now that there were no creepy monsters threatening them! Perhaps Steve should just turn around and not go. Tell Nancy he felt sick, his apologies to Jonathan, and never bring it up again. 

Except he _couldn't_. Even as his mind ran through all of these possibilities, his feet seemed physically unable to even slow down, let alone stop, and it was getting dark, and there was just no way Steve wasn't going to do it now. 

He had thought about it, planned it, angsted about it for months now. He had been upset when Nancy left him, but every time he saw she and Jonathan together, he felt such _longing_. First he had thought he just wanted her back, but them.

Then one day, Jonathan's car broke down in main street, and though other people had shown up to help, it was the sight of Jonathan pushing it, muscles flexed, sweat on his forehead, that had held Steve to the spot. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away. He could barely process; he wanted Nancy back, yes, but not _just_ Nancy.

Coming to terms with it had been easier than he would have thought. Gathering the courage to do something about it, on the other hand.

He could still walk away if he wanted to. 

Light spilt out of the windows, golden and warm and welcoming. He hastened. He knocked. Nancy opened the door, seeming as flustered as Steve felt.

"Hi!" She spoke before he could, and Steve got caught out of guard by just how pretty she looked with her hair like that.

"Hey man," Jonathan spoke from the end of the corridor, where the kitchen was. Steve blushed and came back to himself, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey, guys." 

Nancy took a step aside and Steve walked in, legs feeling like lead. He followed her to the kitchen, where Jonathan was stirring a pot with one hand and poking at a skillet with the other. The smell was delicious. 

"Have a seat." Jonathan gestured to the table. "Do you want a soda?"

"Hmm, yes, sure." Nancy handed him a glass. "Food looks great!"

Jonathan gave a little sideways smile. "I'm almost done. Find your way here okay?"

"Yup. I remembered it," Steve answered, taking a sip from his coke.

Nancy sat across from him, cradling a glass of her own. The silence wasn't exactly tense, it was… expectant. Steve felt a drum in his ears, and he wondered if perhaps he had already given away too much. Nancy was trying not to stare at him, and Jonathan was still cooking, but Steve had never felt this _watched_ before in his life. 

Jonathan turned the gas off and turned to face them. His eyes were bright but reserved. "So. You wanted to talk about something?" 

Steve cleared his throat, trying to find his voice. Nancy seemed sympathetic. 

He was trying very hard not to panic. The light was so bright, the silence deafening. He wished he could hold someone's hand or something. He closed his eyes.

After a minute that felt like hours, Jonathan spoke again "Why don't we… come over here" He led them back to the corridor and into his bedroom, that was mostly dark, and then pointed to the bed. Steve sat down, and Jonathan and Nancy sat at each side of him. 

"Are you okay?" Nancy's voice was soft next to his ear, and she grabbed his hand.

"Yes. Yes, I'm so sorry," he started, but Jonathan shook his head next to him.

"It's alright."

"I wanted to… talk," Steve tried, and he looked at each of them in turns, at Nancy's warm eyes and Jonathan's soft lips, "About. Us." 

"Okay," Jonathan encouraged, softly, but Steve didn't know how to continue. He was afraid he was going to stutter, to say something stupid, to freak them out completely - "Steve."

Very tentatively, Jonathan took Steve's other hand. Steve lifted his eyes slowly, still unable to talk. Jonathan looked at Nancy for a second, a question. Then he gently brushed his lips with Steve's.

Perhaps it was a good thing Steve was too scared to move because on that moment, there was nothing he would have hated more than to break the kiss. It was very, very chaste, and yet Steve felt like his heart was racing and his world was catching fire. Jonathan closed his eyes for a second and Steve did the same, focusing on the texture of his lips, the scent of his skin, committing it all to memory, terrified it would all fall apart. 

Too soon, Jonathan pulled away, a fraction of an inch, and looked into Steve's eyes for a moment. Steve felt breathless. Jonathan searched his face, as if looking for confirmation that he hadn't read it wrong, that there hadn't been a terrible mistake. Steve's face broke into a smile. Jonathan smiled back at him unrestrained.

Nancy cleared her throat and Steve froze, looking at her. 

"Hey." She smiled. Steve's mouth slacked open. She laughed and touched the side of his face before kissing him as well, shorter than Jonathan, but also less restrained.

"So what did you want to talk about?"


End file.
